


Best In (Cl)Ass

by SineadRivka



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Agoraphobia, Allura (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Alternate Universe - Crack, Alternate Universe - Service Dog, Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Behaviors Discussed in Detail, Canon-Typical Violence, Crack Treated Seriously, Don't Examine This Too Closely, Don't Judge Me, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Fawning as a Survival Tactic, Gay Disaster Shiro (Voltron), Healthy Coping skills, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Intersex Alteans, Lesbian Disaster Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Past Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Switch Allura, Switch Pidge, Vers Allura, Vers Pidge, and now we get into the sexy shit, more like sugar MOMMY here amirite?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23382436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SineadRivka/pseuds/SineadRivka
Summary: So a blind girl with a big title, her seeing eye dog, a dude withhorrificPTSD who's too gay to function,hisservice dog, an engineer with agraphobia and his flamboyant service dog all walk into a group therapy session . . .Well, they don't actually. They stumbled into each other's lives at a Ted talk and an unexpected but welcome dinner invite.Excerpt from Chapter One:“This is Matt Holt’s little sister, Katie. She also goes by Pidge. She just graduated from the Galaxy Garrison with her Certification and License in Seeing Eye Dog Services.”“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Pidge said. “My head comes to about your sternum, so when you want to shake hands, I’ll be a little low for you.”“Oh! Thank you!” The Altean’s smile lit up her face. “I would have hated to smack you in the face as a first impression.”“Kinky. Some people would be into that.”“Oh my god, Katherine Holt,” Shiro groaned around his prosthetic hand. “Pidge, this is Princess Allura of Altea. The fucking Altean heir.”
Relationships: Allura & Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Pidge | Katie Holt, Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Antok & Matt Holt, Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Kudos: 20





	Best In (Cl)Ass

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Day 7: Free Day - Dog Hybrid: A.K.A Keith is a good service doggo](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21107141) by [Spatzi_Schatz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spatzi_Schatz/pseuds/Spatzi_Schatz). 



> Welcome to a bit of an experimental AU that I've been toying with for a while. I was hit upside the head with a fully-formed AU ready to go while reading the fic I've linked to as inspiration, and couldn't help but reach out to see if I could use the concept. With their permission, I started planning this out in January. This has been lightly beta'ed, so mistakes are mine.
> 
> Let me know if I've missed any tags! I'll do my best to update tags with every chapter update. I have about two more chapters planned for certain.

Life had a terrible way of putting the perfect people in each other’s paths.

They officially met in group therapy for Prisoner of War survivors who had endured torture at the hands of the Galra. Both had been told by their individual therapists that seeing that others had been through similar experiences would help them feel less isolated by their trauma. Barely adults themselves, Shiro and Allura had seemed to bond too-quickly over their drive to get better. It resulted in a disastrous relationship that had blossomed fruitfully and died explosively.

It was at the moment of their breakup that Shiro realized that he was absolutely gay and Allura realized that she was demisexual, being that Shiro was the only man that she had ever slept with. Their affection, however, rose from the ashes as a platonic friendship that had matured into something truly special. But it was another two years into their friendship that Allura got her hybrid.

That was the catalyst.

Allura’s PTSD had been guided into remission three years after “first” meeting Shiro in therapy. But there was a price: her eyesight. Beyond the light that had burned the inside of her eyes and caused damage to her optic nerves, glass shards had shredded her corneas, which ultimately scarred over. She, like Shiro, had been denied medical care during their days as captives held by the largest side of a Galra civil war. The Fires of Purification were fanatical and it was the work of some brave and now very dead individuals to end their terrorism.

Allura’s capture and torture had been political, making enemies of Emperor Zarkon’s ally of Altea. Earth initially attempted to remain neutral, not yet at the technological level of intergalactic warfare of their new interstellar friends. But in the end, Earth allied with Daibazaal and Altea against what quickly became a magnificent smear campaign. Because when presented with the acronym in English, it was reported that one of the RAF’s stoniest commanders burst into a guffaw in the presence of a very shocked young Queen who had never seen this man so much as crack a smile.

Calling the terrorists Fops over open signals had been a precision-strike of the perfect demoralization. The word was used in official and unofficial documentation, including the definition of the word in English, and finding synonyms in several Earth and intergalactic languages. It fueled rage over intellect, costing battles and causing mistakes.

And through the decade-long war, Earthlings were still captured, pressganged into any number of services.

Or forms of entertainment. 

Shiro had fought in the Arena for the viewing pleasure of Sendak’s troops. That was only the _first_ thing that they had done to him. The medics and Druids experimented on him. He lost an arm; they gave him a new one. He learned who to woo, who had the rank to “earn” him for a night. He hated that he had created a persona to hide behind. He hated that he spent hours trying to recall everything he had forgotten about geisha and geiko, truth and fiction alike. He especially hated that he used the (admittedly sanitized) concept of being an artisan of conversation and charming company to balance out his ferocity in the arena.

He made them think that he liked what they turned him into.

Sendak shockingly hadn’t expected the Altean and the Human to meet in the same officer’s quarters. It been a turning point in the war.

_Shiro wrenched his mind away from that memory._

The day Allura had been diagnosed as legally blind, Shiro had slept over her place with Matt and a Galran feline hybrid that his family was fostering and rehabilitating from an abuse situation. Antok was blind in one eye from a chemical burn, the skin smooth and angry looking. Acid had been thrown in his face to attempt to enrage him into attacking another hybrid in an illegal fighting ring, but it had backfired. Antok had wailed, trying to escape the pain while the other hybrid kept stealing water from laughing patrons to try to rinse the acid off. That had been when the doors busted open and the big hybrid had been hauled over a shoulder amid shouted orders and doused in a lake. Not the most sanitary, but it diluted the acid and he was able to be transported to the local vet’s office for treatment. It took a month and many operations, and the resulting bill was _astronomical_.

The large Galra hybrid had purred so hard for the sad hearts nesting in the middle of the living room floor, ribs aching with the shake of his thrums. But it had helped. And he spoke for the first time since the Holts had taken him in directly from the vet’s office, not even blinking as they negotiated a payment plan that consisted of a large five-digit number. “It . . . will always hurt . . . But you’re not alone. We’re here to help you.”

It was no wonder that Matt “foster-failed” Antok, starting up a series of speaking engagements to raise awareness illegal fighting rings. He showed the ability for both Galra and human hybrids to be rehabilitated through group fostering with the right personalities and not isolated into breaking into submission. They spoke as equals, which was a shock even to many of the minds who often gathered to hear them speak. The assumption was that Antok was there as an example, not as someone who had more speaking time than Matt, fluent and speaking in a mix of American English, ASL, Galran, and Signed Galran to find the right words for the right concepts. Translations with hyperlinks to further context popped up, and thankfully, Antok was kind to his four translators and didn’t speak all four languages in one sentence. He _could_ , though.

Though he did love occasionally making them _think_ he’d do it one day. It was a fun challenge between the five.

It was at one of these multi-speaker events two years after Allura’s diagnosis that they met Matt’s little sister. Shiro and Allura had known each other for five years by this point, and had known Matt for three.

Pidge was a friendly canine-hybrid freshly graduated from her Seeing Eye Program, enjoying a short vacation before she’d be matched with her first Handler. As a Free Agent, a hybrid born to two full humans, she had the legal right to reject applications prior to meeting any potential individuals in need. But right now, she didn’t have to be in Professional Work Mode. And _holy fuck_ that was something she hadn’t known that she’d needed!

She could be Goofy Pidge, Annoying Little Sister. And she was. Until she saw _that absolute goddess_ stride in on the arm of a familiar man whose eyes never stopped scanning the room. The woman’s eyes didn’t move much at all, the blue unwavering but unfocused. The man wasn’t a bodyguard, not with the way that Antok moved in to comfort him with a rare public show of a Galra hybrid playful full-body rub that had the man laughing. And Pidge connected the dots between what she was seeing and _who_ was right there, completely juxtaposed with the setting. “Shiro?”

“Katie?”

She almost launched herself at him before he held his right hand up. “Hold on. Allie, I’m having you hold onto Antok’s arm for a moment while I greet Pidge. She’s been away at school since before I came . . . well, came back.”

“Shiro! Go say hi! I’ll be fine. I have my cane, you silly man. Antok!” His hand took hers and he took Shiro’s space with a practiced motion so that Katie could launch herself into his arms and be swung around. She was small even for a dog-hybrid, but that meant that she would be in high demand for those who needed a Seeing Eye Dog in a city or interstellar environment, where living space was at a premium. Shiro ended up with her seated high on his shoulders, not gathering attention in the least as that was a popular perch for the smallest hybrids. Shiro swung Pidge back to the ground to be ushered closer to Allura for introductions.

“This is Matt Holt’s little sister, Katie. She also goes by Pidge. She just graduated from the Galaxy Garrison with her Certification and License in Seeing Eye Dog Services.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Pidge said. “My head comes to about your sternum, so when you want to shake hands, I’ll be a little low for you.”

“Oh! Thank you!” The Altean’s smile lit up her face. “I would have hated to smack you in the face as a first impression.”

“Kinky. Some people would be into that.”

“Oh my god, _Katherine Holt_ ,” Shiro groaned around his prosthetic hand. “Pidge, this is _Princess Allura of Altea _. The fucking _Altean heir_.”__

__“What the _fuck_ is she doing around _you_ , then?!” Katie yelped softly, hands clapping over her mouth while Allura just stood there and _laughed_. Thankfully, the unorthodox greeting had endeared the Princess towards her, asking for her “very direct opinion” on matters. After the talk, they all went back to Matt’s hotel room to talk the rest of the night away._ _

__A week later, Pidge was back at the Garrison to help mentor the newest freshman class. They had just graduated their first six years of training, and were right at that point of Obnoxious Know-It-Alls that were about to get a Holt Family Reality Check. It was tradition by now that one class every semester deal with one of the Garrison’s Snark Royalty, and this year was Pidge’s debut. She was scheduled as TA to her Olkari mentor to help explain what it was like to be someone else’s eyes in practice and not just in theory. And _oh boy_ , was _she_ ready to really bring these smartasses back down to earth._ _

__But Pidge was greeted at the gates by the Admiral of the Garrison and her Olkari mentor. She had been told to park and not to unpack anything from her vehicle._ _

__Pidge snapped into her Work Mode headspace to prevent herself from panicking at the implications that she wasn’t going to settle into the promised teaching position. By the time she was escorted to the inner staff’s offices, the one place that Pidge had never been able to sneak or hack into, she had a feeling that it was something _much_ more serious than something involving her contract. And that was terrifying as she was rushed along, because that meant that it could potentially be an emergency placement somewhere else. She was wracking her mind for current events as she was aimed towards the doors into the Admiral’s office, trying to figure out what she could have done wrong after all, and—_ _

__And Pidge was greeted by the sight of Allura, alone, standing in the full trappings of her station as Princess of an entire _fucking_ planet thank-you-very-much, and not just “Matt’s friend Allie who will be coming with Shiro when you find him at the TED Talk.”_ _

__Matt was _so_ dead. He had avoided Pidge _all week_._ _

__Allura was _breathtaking_ , effortlessly poised in a fashionable but functional outfit, the regalia of her office limited to a circlet and the quality of clothing. At hearing the door open, she turned, (elegantly? Perfectly? Tolkienian?) delicately-pointed ear twitching as she picked up the steps of the small hybrid entering with the heavier footfalls of a sturdy human. Formal greetings were exchanged, until Allura smiled and her voice broke from the professional tones she often used. “It’s good to be around you again, Pidge.”_ _

__“Holt-Four, you’ve _met_ the Altean Princess?” Iverson asked softly, using Pidge’s official designation in his shock._ _

__Allura answered, eyes not quite focusing where Pidge stood, but close enough to center that it would fool anyone else. “We were introduced just last week at Matthew Holt’s presentation where he and Antok spoke together about the fighting rings. I believe I told you that I was acquainted with some of the Garrison’s alumni. I admit it was a hard topic with truly heartbreaking materials to consider, but it was well-handled. However, I’m here because of _you_ , Guide Holt.”_ _

__Guide Holt. Katie’s official name while working. _Oh shit, Princess Allura was literally here on official business.__ _

__“Me, your Highness?”_ _

__The woman nodded, unfolding her cane and navigating her way closer to where Pidge stood a few steps in front of Iverson. “Yes. I have need of a Seeing-Eye Dog due to the impending return of my official duties. I have been putting this decision off for several months for a variety of reasons, which I will happily go over with you. I submitted my application for _your_ services as my Guide Dog, and I am here to meet with you to see if our personalities will be a good match beyond being acquaintances and the shared personal connection of your brother. Additionally, I’m hoping to see if our minds are compatible through the technology that you and the Olkarion Adepts have brought to new levels.”_ _

__“I’ll warn you, Princess, my experimental devices honestly aren’t ready for testing. We’re still working out how to lower the exchange of information and install filters over what is and isn’t transmitted, and finding those baselines is a long and difficult process. But for the industry-standard headgear, I would be honored to give that a try to see how synched we might be able to be.” Pidge walked closer as she spoke, giving Allura the chance to move or to ask her to keep at a distance. When no request came, the human-canine hybrid asked, “Which is your dominant hand?”_ _

__“I’m ambidextrous, but I use my left more often.”_ _

__“Then I’ll stand at your right. It’ll take some time to get used to the height difference as well as the fact that your new eyes will be right-of-center for you.”_ _

__“You’re quite confident about this matter.”_ _

__“Once I hit my Sophomore year, I started mentoring the younger Guide Prospects through learning what ‘backwash’ feels like and have helped calibration between several prospective and successful Handler-Guide Dog pairs.”_ _

__“Backwash is when a Service Dog receives the sensory input of their Handler instead of the other way around, is that correct?”_ _

__“Yep.”_ _

__Allura chuckled, and the sound sent tingles down Pidge’s spine. The purr of the Princess’ voice was sheer _bliss_ to Pidge’s better-than-human senses. “I was given a preview of your grades and success rates when my application was accepted, since I had listed you as my only desired option. I’m surprised that your natural ability to teach and your eighty-five percent integration rate doesn’t already have job offers lining up. At the very least, I’m satisfied that I have beat several institutions across the galaxy who are sending liaisons to meet with you.”_ _

__“. . . shit, Your Highness. Thank you.”_ _

__“Holt! Proper language!” Iverson hissed._ _

__“Nope. I’m now paid to be what the last ten years with your award-winning personality have shaped me into. Anyway. Princess. You wouldn’t be here if my professional and private profiles didn’t meet the standard match minimum, so let’s skip the luncheon and try on headgear.”_ _

__“I’m quite happy to oblige.”_ _

__Their compatibility rating was in the top one percent, shocking everyone but the Altean, the hybrid, and the Olkari scientists who didn’t need tests to see mental compatibility. Pidge gave Allura permission to continue the application process in reverent tones that none of the Garrison staff had ever heard her use before._ _

__Whatever they shared, it was something unreal, almost beyond natural._ _

____

~*~

Courting a Guide Dog or any Assistance Dog from the Garrison programs meant that you must remained in the city for a week. There were scheduled outings, training sessions with the Service Dog’s mentors, and hopefully interaction with the family of the Service Dog and/or the Handler’s family interacting with the Service Dog. On day five of the required seven, Allura and Pidge returned from a shopping session in the city for another training session with one of Pidge’s mentors. That way, if there was a mismatch, the Handler and Dog would be able to find a better match without having to do extra travel.

That’s when Allura met Keith.

Pidge was in Work Mode, only a bare hint of fond emotions breaking through the mental connection at seeing Keith sitting in one of the waiting room chairs, head down. Allura paused, observing the young man through Pidge’s eyes. “Who is he?”

“Keith Kogane. He was the best in class five years ago for Trauma Response Certification. Since graduating, he has been tutoring the younger kids with high potential between doing short-term trial runs with potential Handlers, but keeps striking out.”

“Why?”

Pidge was honest. “He’s a good friend to me, but he’s got a temper sometimes, and doesn’t like being talked down to by anyone. The closer you are to him, the more respect he needs, which is understandable considering that he’s trained to give multi-modal services. He’s a stunning guard dog, can do room and building sweeps in record time because of his heritage, great PTSD and dissociation response dog to get his Handler back into a safe headspace, an amazing amount of energy to help keep his Handler going and is one of the main people you want bringing you on desert hikes, but—”

“Back up a tick. Heritage?”

“He’s half-human-canine hybrid, half-Galra hybrid. Mother is full Galra, father is a freeborn hybrid. And he can hear us.”

“Oh, _fuck_.”

“Princess!”

Allura indicated that they walk over, and she took a seat facing Keith. “I’m sorry for being so curious and hamfisted about my tone and language, Guide Kogane. English is my fifth language and I’m still getting used to some nuances even after seven years of learning it. Offense was the last thing on my mind.”

Keith was surprised by the quick response. He hadn’t even expected the Princess or Pidge to even acknowledge him, considering that Pidge was working. “I . . . It’s okay. I’m used to it, but . . . yeah. It’s fine.”

“May I ask you some personal questions?”

“I guess? It’s not legal to court two Service Dogs at the same time, though.”

“Oh my dear, you are _not_ anything close to my type, nor would your talents serve me well. I have a friend who is in need; I would like to ask you a few questions to see if you and he may be a good match. From what Pidge has told me, you seem to have just the right skill set to help my dear friend.” Allura’s smile was broad, but kind.

Keith considered this for a moment. “Don’t you have somewhere to be right now? I know the schedules that they tell folks to adhere to.”

“I do, but I’ll let you in on a secret: sometimes, it’s _good_ to be royalty. I am beyond certain that Pidge and I are perfectly matched, and this is all a formality for us. She is _delightful_ , and I find that even my own heart has settled with her companionship. So my priorities are a little changed by now.” Allura stood. “Shall we?”

~*~

Shiro sighed, his head falling to the back of his couch, phone held up to his ear. “Allura, I know I said that I didn’t have any plans today, but that was because I _really_ didn’t want to go out or do anything.” _Holy shit he actually said it to someone instead of just thinking it._

Her voice was cheery. “Oh, but Pidge told me that you loved hiking the summer you and she met! And I want to see how well she and I work on uneven terrain. I _miss_ hiking, Shiro.”

Taking a moment to consider his energy and if he even knew where his legs were, Shiro rubbed at the scar across his nose and let his eyes drift shut. “Okay. But we’re coming back here after and ordering takeout for dinner.”

“And I’ll pay.”

“Okay. Where am I meeting you and Pidge?”

“We found a local guide who grew up in the desert around here and we’ll be meeting with him at the trailhead where the old interstate and river road meet. Do you know where that is? Pidge said she knows.”

Shiro nodded, then responded verbally, forgetting that Allura wasn’t right beside him. “I know where it is. The Holts used that trail all the time when Matt and Pidge were kids. Matt and Pidge showed me when Sam and Colleen pretty much adopted me.”

“Wonderful! We’re meeting up in an hour. Bring lunch.”

“How do you have this much energy?”

“I thrive off of the magic of the universe, Shiro.”

“Yeah _okay_ , Princess. Okay. Fine. One hour. Bye.”

“Bye!”

Shiro got there in just under an hour, having frozen halfway through packing s backpack, anxiety spiking at the “what ifs” that started scrolling through his vision. He didn’t want to overpack, and Pidge would _know_ if he over-packed, over-prepared for too many poor outcomes. Shiro’s hand shook, and his gaze unfocused as the panic swept over him. He tried, he _tried_ to do what his therapist had been teaching him to do but it did _nothing_ just like usual, and-and-an-phone.

Phone?

It was Pidge. He picked it up, breath shaking. “Lo?”

“Hey. You packing?”

“Um.”

“Shiro. Breathe in slowly with me?”

“Y-yeah?” he heard her noisy breath, and drew in a breath to match, trying to slow himself to her pace. And he held his breath, then released it as slowly as possible. “Yeah. Okay. I, uh . . . Shit, I don’t know if I can do this today, Pidge.”

“I hope you can. I think it might do you a lot of good to come back out here with me and Allura and a professional guide.”

“Guide like trail guide or like Service Guide like you?”

“Both. Allura doesn’t know I’m calling, but if you and he are a good match, she’s going to finance the contract for you. She knows that you’ve been struggling again, and it’s been a bad time for you. And we all love you and want you to be happier.”

“What if this gets fucked up?”

“I will bet an actual paycheck that it’ll be better than you’ll give it credit for. And my potential contract with Allura will have paid off my Garrison debt in a _year_.” Pidge’s voice was calm, gentle. “Please, please come give this a chance. I can personally vouch for the Guide.”

Shiro released a deep breath and closed his eyes. His voice was small. “Don’t judge my bag.”

“I won’t. Bring extra moleskin.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“Welcome. Go sing a couple songs to get your breathing regulated again. Bye!”

The line went dead in his hand, and Shiro looked down at it with a soft smile. His hands still shook as he packed, but he was closer and closer to doing something unexpected. And Pidge wanted him to bring something extra, and wasn’t going to judge him for any of it. That was worth it.

He grabbed an extra two bottles of water and his mid-sized first aid kit just in case. The one with the emergency blanket. And grabbed a windproof lighter, a decent-sized Maglight, and a legal knife. He’d survived with just his Galra prosthetic before, but he didn’t want to have to do that again.

When Shiro arrived at the trailhead, Pidge and Allura were already there with Pidge’s Jeep next to an old but was well cared for red pickup truck. He parked on Pidge’s other side and walked around with his bag, checking the straps and making sure that he was parked within the “lines.” The women were talking with the guide who had the tailgate down and the glass window up. Inside was a wandering soul’s dream: A low mattress rested on plywood that covered pull-out storage, a pull-out kitchen if he was seeing that right. Small lights were attached to a wood-paneled ceiling. And this was just at a glance.

The man turned around and froze. That reaction had Pidge turning. “Shiro, I thought that was you pulling in! This is Keith Kogane; he graduated five years before me, so he must have overlapped with you a bit, too.”

Shiro knew his face but couldn’t remember from _where_. “Hi. I, uh . . . I feel like we’ve met, but my memory isn’t always the best after my trauma. So I don’t always have context or remember conversations or names at first.” He hated how _formulated_ that sounded, but it was the only way that he could get his words out. His therapist had said it was a good way to let other folks know that he wasn’t the same Shiro as before, and that the phrases will shift into something more natural over time. He had a good lady helping him, but he was just _so tired_ that sometimes all he could give was canned responses.

Keith’s breath left him in a soft sigh. He was picking up so much from this man already, and they hadn’t even played with the Olkari-Altean tech yet. He could feel himself smiling softly, and that caused broad shoulders to lower a fraction out of their defensive curl. “We met a few times. You encouraged me to follow my heart and my gut when I was really low one day, and I changed my track that week to what I’m trying to do now.”

“Wow. Are you happy with this?”

“Usually. When closeness doesn’t breed contempt.”

“Oof. I’m sorry. Uh. I-I don’t know what to say to that, honestly.” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck and Keith smiled again, this time wider with a bit of fang. The human couldn’t help but stare for a moment before the smaller man winked, still relaxed and easy. 

“Oh, no worries. Sometimes someone just isn’t ready for a Service Dog like me.” Keith leaned back against the bumper of his truck. “So. I wanted to make my pack complementary to yours. Mind if we compare notes?”

“I-uh.” Shiro tried not to freeze, and remembered what Pidge said about not judging. She wouldn’t, and this was a Certified Garrison Dog. They didn’t graduate just _anyone_ from their Service Programs. “I guess? Okay?”

“You don’t have to open your bag if you don’t want to. How about I just run through my list verbally and you tell me to pack it if we need it. Whatever else I don’t mention can remain a surprise for me. Will that work?”

Shiro nodded and stepped closer. Keith started rattling off everything he would normally pack, and only came up with some extra snacks and extra food for lunch. “I’ll also bring some of my personal tools and favorite gear, okay?” And he strapped on a big damn knife to the small of his back and pulled a bag together mostly automatically before he swung it around and tested its balance.

And then they were ready. Shiro turned and watched as Allura and Pidge calibrated themselves to each other and to a quick scan of their environment. Seeing their partnership, young and yet _perfect_ in that way that nobody ever anticipates happening . . . it gave him something to smile about. Shiro turned to see where Keith was standing, and saw that the man wasn’t even watching Allura, the person that Shiro worried the most about for the hike.

Keith was focused on _him_. And it wasn’t even that intrusive, just . . . he was the immediate focus for a bright moment before Allura and Pidge passed him and followed Keith directly. Shiro wasn’t sure what those two were already planning and how Keith fit into it, but it _was_ nice to get out of his apartment for a while and enjoy a hike through the scrubby desert. No matter who needed to stop (and everyone needed a moment for one reason or another), there was no judgement or jabs or jokes made at someone’s expense. 

Lunch was at a small campground that was their turnaround point, with conversation flowing smoothly among all four people now. Pidge and Keith found out how Allura and Shiro met, and both were trying not to snort water at the tag-team play-by-play retelling of how their (admittedly hilarious) breakup happened. Shiro thankfully managed to get the punch line out before he saw the helpless laughter lift Keith’s face into a delighted grin, unashamed of the longer-than-human-hybrid fangs that caught the sunlight.

Memory flashed.

_The boy was part Galra, struggling to fit in—_

“Shiro?”

He had frozen in the flashback that had given him a momentary double-exposure of realities of Then and Now. Angry young Galra boy with sclera flashing yellow facing down a pack of bullies dissolved back into a young man, frame filled out with eyes human-normal and fangs bared in a smile rather than a snarl. “Oh. Oh, you’re the natural who broke all my piloting records.”

Keith’s face lit up at being remembered, and he blushed brilliantly. “Yeah. I was a real asshole of a kid because I was raised on Earth with my human dad and my Galra mom was on an assignment with the Senate Diplomatic Corps for most of my childhood due to someone pissing off the wrong person and instead getting barely-post-weaning-a-kit Galra dam. Long story. Mom did her best, but nobody taught me about my Galra behaviors and stuff until I was a teenager, just after I switched to the Service Dog Cert route. There was a lot more therapy for us students in the hybrid side than the human side to prepare us for helping Handlers, and it really helped me work through a lot of my unresolved issues.”

Shiro’s face lit up in a soft smile. “I never would have expected that _this_ would be the result of that day. I mean, I know that we walked away without even a slap on the wrist because I was the golden boy, but . . . I’m glad that I encouraged you to find the path that fit your heart.”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to thank you for that without looking like a fucking creep. I mean, shit. I broke your records because I thought that being a pilot would be my best destiny.” His voice halted, and then he continued, tone gentled. “I do struggle with survivor’s guilt knowing that it could have been me as your co-pilot for the Kerberos mission if I’d stayed in that track.”

Shiro’s face broke, and Pidge looked ready to _murder_ Keith. Allura stroked deft fingers through soft waves, soothing her Service Dog and stilling her enough to lean down and land a kiss to her crown.

A voice, low and painful but still strong, whispered, “I’m glad you didn’t have to make the decisions I had to, Keith. I am _so glad_ that you were spared. Adam wouldn’t have wanted to see you die in his place.”

“Shiro—”

“No, Keith. There’s no ‘what if’ for this. Adam specifically said that he was grateful that you weren’t out there. He didn’t last two rounds in the arena, Keith. You would have been tortured for _months_ because you’re half-Galra. And look at you now . . . You’re _well_. You’re _healing_. You’re _successful_ because I _know_ the wash-out rate for the Psychiatric Service Dog program and I can’t _afford_ your quality.” Shiro reached up to brush dark hair out of Keith’s face. “Don’t be sorry that you changed tracks and lived and _thrived_. Please. Don’t feel guilty. You were spared from _so much_ because you listened to me. I’m so glad that this became your path.”

Pidge’s mouth hung open.

Keith’s eyes threatened to well over, and he leaned closer just enough to have Shiro pull him into the man’s lap and curled in an embrace that pressed their heartbeats together. In turn, Shiro hid Keith’s tears while birdsong started up around the quartet again.

It took then another hour before they started back, and reached their cars just before full dark. Shiro was glad Keith didn’t see his blush. 

Keith was glad that Shiro didn’t see _his_.

~*~

Allura looked at Pidge that night with a smile, the world ceasing to exist outside the massive dignitary’s suite that the Altean had booked for her time courting Pidge. Her eyesight had stabilized that she had a fraction of remaining vision in her left eye, and what she _could_ see of Pidge continued to enamor her. They lay together on a low couch before the fireplace, hands tracing the seams of each other’s clothing, red and tan dust clinging to every surface. The Princess let her hand trace over Pidge’s face before she whispered, “Tell me to stop, and I will. At any point.”

“I knew the moment that you laughed instead of getting offended at me that I could fall hard for you, Allura. And our compatibility? That’s a _dream_ for me, greater than my dream of teaching. Everyone hopes for their high-score match.” Pidge’s fingertips traced the marks at the corners of Allura’s eyes, sending the larger woman into full-body shivers. “Allura, you’re my goddess, my everything. You’re that less-than-one-percent for me, because I feel like we’re one person when I’m your eyes.”

“Pidge,” Allura breathed, hand tracing down the pale column of Pidge’s neck. “I want to kiss every freckle and trace the constellations of my childhood onto your skin and recount each sordid epic that mirrored every innocent childhood fairytale. I wish to worship and claim your temple for my own daily practices.”

“I love you,” Pidge blurted, voice a shocked hiss, before she leaned up and kissed Allura firmly. “I love you, Princess. I just wish that this wasn’t Disney-Princess levels of timing.”

Laughing, delighted because Shiro had sat her down and instructed her on Disney, Ghibli, and a handful of other animation studios, Allura understood the reference. “Oh, I agree. We have similar fairytales on Altea.” Her hand crept along Pidge’s shoulder to trace down over the soft foothill of Pidge’s breast. “But later. I wish to bathe in the soft cries of your passion.”

Groaning, Pidge started fumbling to get out of her clothing, losing patience with the fabric and hoping that she didn’t tear anything in the process. “Do you need help getting out of your clothes?”

But Allura was already almost completely bare. “No, but I will surely enjoy being stripped by you one day.”

“Yeah,” Pidge breathed, paused in pulling her underwear off and seeing Allura’s form. “Oh, _wow_. Yeah. One day _soon_ , Allura. Holy _shit_ you are _beautiful_.”

Allura blushed, knowing that she may not be seen as beautiful to many people. She knew her body bore the scars of her captivity at the hands of the Galra, making her glad for the coverage of her home planet’s formal wear as well as the variety of modest clothing available on Earth. But at seeing the hint of movement, then feeling the bare brush of fingertips along her own, she smiled and felt Pidge’s palms trail up her arms to her elbows. The little Guide leaned up and murmured, “Hey. Map me. I want to feel your hands learn my body.”

The Princess felt herself both unsheathe and get wetter at hearing the low voice close to her heart. “That’s not fair, you minx.”

“What’s not fair is that I want to skip the foreplay to play with some amazing anatomy,” Pidge murmured. Then she froze. “Allura? I need to know _real fast_ if you have any places that you don’t want me to touch.”

“Bottoms of my feet and my, um. Well, in humans, it’s called an anus, but it’s simply where Alteans excrete all waste.”

“If I brush that area, will it be a problem? You were open with me about being raped during your captivity earlier.”

Allura brushed her hands over Pidge’s face, capturing the expression of concern and smiling reassuringly. “Yes, it was cloacal penetration. That’s part of why I don’t want that area played with, but I’ve had years to process this and a lot of therapy revolved around healing from that assault. I’m not going to react poorly if that’s touched tonight, but let’s revisit this later for going forward.”

“Okay by me. Good.”

“Why?”

“Lay down and I’ll show you.”

Allura was no stranger to oral sex, and she and Shiro had spent hours enjoying the practice, despite his later realization that he was more gay than anything else. But Pidge’s mouth on her cunt made her spine _melt_. She fell back, clapping her hands over her mouth to muffle the moan that broke free at feeling that deft mouth trace along her folds. Kitten licks were punctuated by nips, sharp hybrid canines adding that spicy edge of danger. A broad tongue lathed over the whole of her center, and Allura dropped one hand to grip onto the sheets, her moan stuttering. “Pidge!”

“That’s right,” the Guide whispered, chuckling and letting her fingers dance up along Allura’s tapered shaft. “Mm. I’ve been doing some research while you’ve been in meetings, you know.”

Allura whined, tossing her head back as one manicured finger traced back and forth along the slit of her cock. “Pidge . . .”

“Do you know what I love most about Altean genitalia?” Pidge continued, almost to herself as she let one hand trace down along the rigid member. It was decidedly non-human with a spade-shaped head and a length that narrowed right behind the head and gently bulged outwards before tapering in at the base. Markings of the same color as those on Allura’s cheeks delicately pulsed along the underside of the hefty cock. Matching scars at either hip and at points along Allura’s sides indicated that there had once been elegant pathways of the bioluminescent skin that would have guided Pidge to the woman’s center. A piece of the younger woman snarled _lividly_ in the back of her mind at the torture method, glad that the war was done and over with.

Gentle fingertips traced through the lubrication that it produced, using that to outline the finely-haired lines of Allura’s labia. Pidge slid two fingers into the ready hole, the sudden move making her much-larger partner squirm, insides almost . . . no, they _were_ sucking Pidge’s fingers as deep as possible. “Mm. It’s a beautiful system.”

Yelling around her knuckles, Allura jerked as Pidge found _something_ inside her that she hadn’t known was there. Or maybe she did, but hadn’t know how it would feel with a hand tracing along her dick at the same time.

“But it doesn’t stop there.” Pidge laughed, bringing her mouth into play again, this time starting to suck Allura off, moaning around the almost-shovel-shaped cockhead. Her tongue delved into the slit, the sweet-salty precum making her moan. The vibrations made Allura gasp, hips twitching. Pulling off and blowing softly along the heated skin, Pidge began to stroke a third finger into Allura’s cunt, hitting that rough patch right behind her pubic bone with every third stroke. “Feeling good?”

Allura nodded, biting down on her knuckles.

“Use your words, _Princess_ ,” Pidge ordered, voice firm.

“Yes!” Allura gasped, her title sounding like a pet name rather than an honorific when spoken by Pidge. “Yes, please, yes, this feels so good, please more?”

“Good girl,” Pidge praised. “Want to get off? This isn’t a trick question.”

“Stars, yes, please!”

“Can I swallow your cum?”

The thought almost had Allura climaxing right there, and she bit out a swift, “yes” in Altean, the only language that she had a mind for in this plane of existence.

Pidge immediately bent her head to suck Allura’s cock down as far as she could take it, bobbing her head with immediate suction, her hand stroking what she couldn’t swallow. Allura yelled as she felt three fingers press hard against her g-spot, pinning it against her pubic bone and rubbing it back and forth. Pidge’s thumb found the nerve bundle at base of her cock, rubbing that in tight circles that mimicked the same motion as her fingers that were deep inside Allura.

The alien woman’s head pressed back into the bed as her hearing fizzled into tinnitus, her voice too loud to her own ears as she came with a guttural bellow down Pidge’s throat.

And all over her hand and arm, soaking the comforter under her hips.

But Pidge was swallowing, and her arm didn’t stop moving even though Allura had cum. She kept going, sucking the head of her cock until it hit oversensitivity, hand slowing but not stopping through the pulsing walls. With a moan, Allura felt her penis resheath itself out of Pidge’s diligent mouth. Even then, the woman bathed the slit of her penile recess with long strokes of her tongue up, and kissing her way back down to what humans would otherwise call a clitoris.

The second orgasm hit Allura by surprise, winding her with its intensity as her legs clamped tight around Pidge’s arm and torso, but that didn’t stop Pidge’s fingering. She sped up her motions through the gripping muscles that had threatened to still her fingers from circling. She moaned and felt another _impossible_ climax hit her, knocking her limp save for her throbbing pussy gripping Pidge’s (finally!) slowing fingers. Every exhale was a soft moan.

It took a moment to realize that Pidge was talking to her. “Allura, hey, you with me?”

“Mm?”

“Oh, hi. You’re not.”

“Mm-mm.”

Pidge’s low chuckle turned into a soft growl at the knock at Allura’s door. But Allura waved her hand until she felt Pidge’s sticky hand gripping her own. “No. Probably Coran.”

“We just had sex—”

“He’s walked in on so much worse. He’ll probably walk in on us at some point, too. If it’s an emergency, he’ll break in.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“You didn’t have to, but we can add that to the list of things to talk about tomorrow. Can I let him in?”

“Oh! Uh.” Pidge looked around and ended up wincing as she grabbed a throw with her sticky hands to toss over herself and Allura. Her voice was small, entirely the opposite of the demanding tone that she had used between them. “Okay.”

“Enter!” Allura called, her hand going up to curl around Pidge’s head, petting the soft ears that rotated towards the turn of the knob.

Coran strode in, careful to be discreet about how wide he opened the door. “I had a feeling this would be a good time to interrupt.” He placed the basket in his arms on the side table and took two steps back to nod, eyes focused on the wall across from him. “The basket has aftercare items ready for you. There are warmed towels on the top. Should I prepare one of these baskets every night for you to prevent another interruption?”

Pidge hid her face against Allura’s side as the woman replied firmly, “Absolutely, Coran. Thank you for your foresight. One of us will let you know if we do not need it earlier in the evenings. Please make housekeeping aware that we will need the linens changed more often as well.”

“Perfect. Right, then. Enjoy!” And he was off again, out the door fast enough that Allura tossed the throw off and rolled over Pidge.

She lowered herself to rub her mound against the smaller one. “I want to be inside you.”

“Condoms?”

“I don’t have any, but . . . I can control my fertility. And I tested clean at the required physical on that first day of orientation.”

Pidge moaned softly, head dropping back at the thoughts of getting filled and not having to worry about getting pregnant. “Same. I want you in me _so badly_.”

Allura ground against her one more time before backing off and placing her mouth almost entirely around Pidge’s entire cunt. The size difference was fucking with both of them, driving them higher. Allura swirled her tongue around Pidge’s clit, pausing to suck on it experimentally. She was rewarded with the brief flail of limbs and a choked gasp, to which she smirked and changed immediately to shove her tongue as deep as it would go into Pidge’s cunt.

Which, as it turned out, was quite deep. She found that spot so similar to her own and began to continue to fuck her in earnest, pinning the small hybrid’s labia open with her thumbs. The wet noises were _obscene_ , and when Allura moaned at hearing how soaked Pidge was becoming, it only added more to it all. Pidge reached for her clit, but her hand was batted away by Allura, who pinched it between finger and thumb and began to roll it between the digits.

Pidge saw white as she came unexpectedly, body convulsing in waves and shudders. Allura didn’t slow down, switching tongue with fingers. “You’re so _tiny_ that I won’t be able to fit all of myself inside of you. I can’t wait to see your stomach bulge with my thrusts.”

Pidge moaned, hands patting at Allura’s arms pleadingly. 

“You like that? Mm. I want to fucking fill you with so much cum . . .”

Hitting a second peak so soon after the first peak, clenching around _three_ of Allura’s fingers, Pidge’s staccato moans hit a soprano pitch that dove into relieved and long “Oooohh”s as her climax began to release her. “Oh. _Oooohhh_ , Allura, wow. Oh, wow. Okay, that dirty talk is gonna . . . _ooooh . . . mmm_.” Giggling, she felt Allura wiggle her fingers and continue to stretch her wider. “Mm. I may not have been a size queen before, but I might have to be one.”

“You know that I can shape-shift, yes? I could get bigger or smaller upon what I wish.” She smirked. “I can change my tongue just as easily.”

Pidge stared up at the ceiling, breathless for one long moment. “I’m . . . I’m actually a size queen. Oh my gods.”

“But you’ll take me as I normally am tonight, won’t you?”

Pidge nodded, head turned to one side as she nodded against the sheets, aware of how exposed she was, open to . . . someone who couldn’t see. And that just _fucked_ with her head for a long moment, allowing Allura time to really test her walls. She moved by touch, memorization. And when she slid her fingers free, Pidge couldn’t help but whine at the loss, the sudden emptiness.

“Oh, sweet thing, let me fill that hole back up.”

The words would have sounded _terrible_ coming from someone else, but Allura’s croon only made Pidge tilt her chin up, exposing the narrow, graceful column. But she knew that Allura couldn’t see her submission, so she brought one hand up to trace along her posture, teaching her Handler, her lover, how it was okay to use her hands to see what Pidge was doing. Allura groaned at the show of submission and traced her free hand along Pidge’s folds, teasing as she memorized their location. Then, carefully, she lined herself up.

Pidge had missed that Allura was hard again.

The spade head split Pidge open slowly, Allura switching her hold to wrap her hands around the backs of Pidge’s thighs to hold her in place. The Altean groaned at the tight passage, and then slowly started to pull the hybrid onto her cock using only her arm strength. At about the halfway point, Allura paused at hearing the soft, sobbing breaths that moaned on the brief exhales. It was almost a squeak, and she rubbed her thumbs back and forth soothingly. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes. Big. Keep going. Don’t need to stop. Y’feel so _good_. Oh god, I didn’t know how strong you were. _Keep going!_ ”

“Okay. Fast or slow?”

“Fast, please fast! I want to feel this tomorrow!”

“Mm. Good girl.” Allura carefully slammed herself as deeply as she could go, feeling Pidge’s back go ramrod straight and her cunt spasming in a pseudo-orgasm around the intrusion. At Pidge’s encouraging groan, Allura began to piston her hips in, careful to drag the edge of her cockhead along the anterior wall of Pidge’s vagina, feeling her head base begin to flare out with the additional stimuli, adding more drag on the retreat. Beginning to grunt with each thrust, Allura fell onto her left elbows, hand curling up around the back of Pidge’s shoulders to hold her in place. Her right hand went down to Pidge’s left hip, thumb able to reach the hybrid’s clit and rub in furious circles that drew forth a wail.

Every slam home had Pidge whimpering. Every drag to her entrance had her gasping for air. “Please, please, please, Princess, please!”

Allura _snarled_ as she began moving faster. And with a final shove, she felt the fringe of her cockhead swell and flare out into place, allowing her to only draw out as far as Pidge’s entrance, locked to that point. Every spurt of cum made her hips jerk, a helpless gasp escaping her as she filled her sweet Guide with all that she had. The punched-out groan and spasmatic contractions of small, rock-hard abs under her hand had Allura slowing herself down. 

Pidge leaned back and sighed, trying to slow her breathing after that orgasm. “Oh. Oh wow. Uh. Damn, that was good.”

Small fingers went down, circling the girth of the cock that remained within her, making Allura whine at the contact. Overtaken by her own base instincts, Allura was left without words as she felt the knot _re-engage_ at the single touch. That was _erotica-level_ shit that she hadn’t _dared_ to experience, and she panted hard at feeling two small hands barely meet enough to compress lightly around the widest part of her cock. Whining, she pressed her nose against a sharp collarbone, hoping that her desire would translate over.

So Pidge began to stroke Allura off again with a smirk. “Come on. Let’s switch it up again and you be the good girl and _stay right there and keep filling me_.” At this point, it didn’t take long.

Allura’s third orgasm of the night was painful, but it was worth it to see Pidge’s flat belly lightly rounded out with her cum.

Of course, she ate that pussy clean afterwards. As one should.

(By the end of the night, Allura gave Pidge two more orgasms until the hybrid whined and tried to push her away. The third and final orgasm of round three knocked the little Guide out. It was 5am by that point. They missed an entire morning of meetings. Nobody was surprised.)

**Author's Note:**

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